Nigeria stampede at cash-handout event kills three women

At least three women were killed in a stampede during a cash distribution in Nigeria’s central Niger State, a medical source told AFP on Wednesday.

Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday night at the official residence of Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, where each person was due to receive 10,000 naira ($7.50).

The cash distribution was reportedly organised partly to prevent a planned protest over the deaths of 37 artisanal miners who died in state custody about two weeks earlier, according to a security report prepared for the United Nations and seen by AFP.

The miners reportedly suffocated in a crowded and poorly ventilated cell, triggering anger and protests in Niger State.

A paramedic at the state-run Minna General Hospital said six injured people and three bodies were brought to the facility following the stampede.

"All the dead bodies were women," the paramedic said, requesting anonymity for fear of sanctions.

However, a UN security report put the death toll at five.

Police said they were still gathering details about the incident.

Yusuf Abubakar Bawa said his 15-year-old daughter was injured in the crush and remains in a coma.

Deadly stampedes

Deadly stampedes during cash and food distributions have occurred several times in Nigeria, with some distributions also drawing scrutiny over concerns about political influence and vote-buying ahead of elections.

In December 2024, 35 children were killed in a crush at a Christmas fair in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria.

In March that year, 17 women died in a stampede during a cash distribution in Bauchi State. Days earlier, two students had died in another crush at a university campus in Nasarawa State.

In July 2021, a food voucher distribution for people displaced by terrorist violence in Monguno, northeastern Nigeria, triggered a deadly stampede.

Another aid distribution near the Cameroon border in April 2020 resulted in a crush that killed at least five women and children.